West Virginia football has had an eye on a 5-star Class of 2026 prospect with deep ties to the program in Morgantown. However, it doesn't appear they're making much progress in bringing him into the fold.
Chris Henry Jr. -- the son of the late former WVU wide receiver and NFL standout Chris Henry -- committed to Ohio State last summer. But with plenty of time left to recruit the Class of 2026, other interested parties are not slowing their pursuit of Henry, despite his verbal assurances he will end up in Columbus.
The Mountaineers are still pursuing Henry, but those in Morgantown received some bad news on that front on Tuesday evening.
National football outlet On3 broke the story that Henry has lined up four official visits this coming summer as he heads into his senior season and the homestretch of his recruitment -- and a trip to West Virginia is nowhere to be found on this list.
Of course, his current commitment to the Buckeyes means he'll be making a trip to Columbus, which is currently scheduled for June 20th. But Miami (May 30th), USC (June 6th) and Oregon (June 13th) are also among the programs that will be receiving an official visit from the standout recruit.
WVU's hopes for Henry to eventually play in the old-gold-and-blue rest in his connections to the program -- not only did his father play for the Mountaineers, but he played in particular during recently hired WVU Head Coach Rich Rodriguez during his first tenure leading the program in Morgantown in the 2000's.
Henry also was raised by his father's former teammate at WVU, Pacman Jones, following the untimely death of his dad in 2009. Henry highlighted the connection in a 247Sports interview this past December.
"Rich Rod coached my pops and my uncle. It's West Virginia," Henry said, describing WVU as a program that was back in the mix for his recruitment.
On3's scouting report on Henry describes him as a "big receiver with a rare combination of size, athleticism and coordination as a young prospect." He is also said to show "outstanding functional movement skills at his size, with the ability to sink his hips and change direction with ease," and he "projects as a high level route runner as he continues to progress."
It will likely be difficult for WVU -- or any other program -- to lure Henry away from Ohio State, where he will receive a chance to play for recently promoted Offensive Coordinator Brian Hartline.
Hartline has developed a reputation as a wide receivers coach at Ohio State as one of the brightest young coaches in college football, having played significant roles in the recruitment and development of future first-round NFL Draft selections such as Marvin Harrison Jr. and Chris Olave.